Car-coupling



N0. 6l2,382. Patented Oct. ll, I898. F. DAWSON & W. 0. EASTUN.

CAR COUPLING.

(Application filed June 11, 1897.)

(No Model.)

Fail/5 Dawaow, WM: 0. E a

Wifgzsse E H am iforgeys,

UNITED T STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK DAWSON AND WILLIAM O. EASTON, OF WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 612,382, dated October 11, 1898.

' Application filed June 11, 1897. Serial No. 640,362. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK DAWSON and WILLIAM O. EASTON, citizens of the United States,residing at Williamsport,in the county of Lycomin g and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Oar-Coupling, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in car-couplings.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of pin-and-link carcouplings and to provide a simple and comparatively inexpensive one, capable of coupling automatically and adapted to be readily uncoupled from the tops and sides of cars without going between them.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described,'illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a car-coupling constructed in accordance with this invention and shown applied to a car. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of two draw-heads arranged preparatory to coupling. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectionalview showin g two draw-heads coupled Fig. 4: is an end elevation of a draw-head, the lever and the coupling-pin being removed. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views of the link and the pin.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

1 designates a draw-head mounted on a car 2 in'the usnalmanner and having its front extended slightly at the bottom at 3 to provide a longer incline or flare 4 at the bottom of its mouth in order to direct links at difierent elevations into the draw-head, so that the latter will be adapted to couple the cars having their draw-heads arranged at difierent elevations.

The side walls of the draw-heads have their outer portions slightly converging to form a flaring mouth, and the inner portions converge and meet at the center of the drawhead, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings, to form rear walls 5 which rear walls 5 are cut away below the center to form a tapering recess or cavity,

the walls 7 of which converge upwardly and inwardly. The walls of the draw-head are rigid and are adapted to direct the link downward and cause the same to couple at the bottom of the draw-head,and as the recess formed by the walls 7 decreases in width toward its top they serve to hold the link at the bottom of the draw-head.

The draw-head is provided with an extension 9, and the coupling-pin is connected by a chain 10 with the upper end of a lever 11, fulcrumed between its ends on a transverse pin 12 and having its lower portion or section depending at the mouth of the draw-head in position to be engaged by a link entering the same,whereby the coupling-pin will be drawn upward, as illustrated in dotted lines in' Fig. 2 of the accompanying drawings, when the link enters the draw-headto permit the link to pass beneath the coupling-pin, which falls into engagement with the same as soon as the link leaves the lower end of the lever.

The lever is preferably composed of upper and lower sections 13 and 14, connected at the pin 12 by a hinge-joint. The upper section, which curves rearward, terminates at the coupling-pin perforation and has its lower end bifurcated, and the lower section is reduced to form a tongue to fit'in the bifurcation. The lower section is adapted to swing outward independent of the upper section to permit a link to be readily withdrawn from the draw-head but the contiguous shoulders of the adjacent ends of the upper and lower sections form stops and limit the inward swing of the lower section, causing the leverwhen engaged by a link to swing, as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and lift the coupling- 1H. When the lever is forced inward bya link, it is adapted, owing to its inclination, to force the link downward and cause the same to couple at the bottom'of the draw-head. The link is held in position for coupling by the pin and sides of the draw-head, which are IOO Arecess is provided in the front of the drawhead for the reception of the lever to prevent the same from being crushed or otherwise injured when cars come together for coupling, and the bottom of the draw-head is also recessed at its front to receive the lower end of the lever.

The operation of coupling is purely automatic, and the operation of uncoupling is effected by a transverse rock-shaft 15, journaled in bearing-brackets 16 of the car and provided at the sides thereof with handles, and it has a central crank loop or bend 17, which is arranged beneath the chain 10 and is adapted to engage the same and lift the coupling-pin when the rock-shaft is rotated.

. The rock shaft is also arranged in bearings 18 of the draw-head, and the bearing-brackets 16, which are provided with elongated horizontal openings,permit the rock-shaft to move longitudinally of the car to yield to the play of the draw-head. When itis desired to uncouple a car, the rock shaft is partially rotated to swing the loop or bend 17 upward and elevate the coupling-pin, as shown in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, and

the rock-shaft is maintained in such elevated position by means of ratchet-wheels 19 and pawls 20. The ratchet -wheels are mounted on the rock-shaft adjacent to the bearingbracket 16, and the pawls 20,which are hinged or pivoted to the car, are adapted to be swung upward into engagement with the ratchetwheel. The weight of the loop 17 and the handles of the rock shaft and the couplingpin operates to retain the pawl in engagement with the ratchet-wheel, so that the couplingpin will remain elevated until the cars are separated. The ratchet-wheels and the pawls are not in use when a car is in motion and when the draw-head is subject to longitudinal reciprocation, so that theratchet mechanism is not affected by the movement of the draw-head.

Any suitable means may be employed for enabling the operation of uncoupling to be performed from the top of a car or the platform of a coach.

It will be seen that the car-coupling is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, that it is capable of coupling automatically and of being readily uncoupled without going between cars, and that as the lever is constructed of two parts, as shown,

the lower section may be readily replaced should it become broken or otherwise injured. It will also be seen that if a coupling-pin .should break the link would pull out of the draw-head without injuring the lever.

What we claim is 1. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head having a coupling-pin perforation, a coupling-pin arranged within the perforation, a lever fulcrumed on the draw-head in advance of the coupling-pin and having its upper portion extending inward or rearward over the top of the draw-head and terminating at the coupling-pin perforation at a point directly above the coupling-pin, and a flexible connection between the upper end of the lever and the coupling-pin,substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head, a coupling-pin arranged in the draw-head, a lever fulcrumed between its ends on the draw-head and composed of upper and lower sections, the lower section being hinged to the upper section and capable of swinging outward independently of the same, a chain connecting the upper end of the lever with the coupling-pin, a transverse rock-shaft journaled on the draw-head and having a crank-bend receiving the chain, and adapted to swing the coupling-pin upward, brackets designed to be mounted on a car and having elongated horizontal openings, and a pawl and ratchet for holding the rockshaft against rotation, substantially as de scribed.

3. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head, a coupling-pin arranged in the draw-head, a lever fulcrumed between its ends on the draw-head, and having its lower portion arranged to be engaged by a link, a chain connecting the upper ends of the lever and the coupling-pin, and a rock-shaft journaled on the draw-head and provided with a crank-bend engaging the chain, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANK DAWSON. WILLIAM O. EASTON.

WVitnesses: E1). 0. EDWARDs,

J. HORACE SHALE. 

